The One Thing You Own but Cannot Manage Effectively

by Greg on February 14, 2017

Buying that lovely property has just left you so drained after the paper work and checking whether everything is in order, the title in place and the keys in your hand, that you would just like to creep under the covers and forget about it for a while. But no – there is a myriad of things to do once you have this baby on your hands.

Property management entails managing your property while renting it out, maintaining the necessary records for tax, legal and insurance purposes. Property management companies do this and much more for a fee. They deal directly with prospects and tenants. They help market your property in the right way and once leased, they take on the responsibility of collecting rent, dealing with maintenance, repairs, even undertaking renovations on a periodic basis so that the property keeps up with the rental market. They receive tenant complaints and also carry out evictions if necessary.

Today, Australia has a well-defined approach to education courses in property and real estate combining them with the parallel courses in law to provide for strong legal skills as well. Nowadays, there is property management software available which is widely used.

Property management services come at a price and some feel that they are not for everyone. It makes sense to hire them if you own more than one rental property, or if you live far away from your rental property. It definitely makes sense if the owner cannot be bothered with the nitty gritty of renting out a property and can afford the fees.

The traits of a good property manager

A property manager has to know the rights of the owner.

He or she has to have an understanding of building architecture as well as plumbing, electricity, etc. But most of all this job is about building long term relationships with clients.

Knowledge of the marketplace for the local real estate agents is essential to deliver the best rental option for their client.

Their responsibility does not end with finding the right tenant. Periodic checks on the property, such as a thorough inspection twice a year is necessary because a lot of damage can occur within that period.

Some of them provide regular video walk throughs of the property to the owner, while the property is in use. This keeps the owner abreast of the condition of the property and is especially useful if the owner is in another location far away.

What is required in property management is a passion, a feeling of dealing with the client’s property as you would your own. When a tenant runs into problems on the property, a sincere property manager will go to any length to solve the problem at the earliest. This is what endears a property manager to the owner, who then realizes that the benefits of having a property manager far outweigh the cost of commission involved.

How much does it cost to have your property managed?

The property manager takes an initial fee which could be a month’s rent or less and a recurring fee which would be between 5 and 10 percent of the monthly rent. Property management fees in urban areas tend to be less because of greater density and more competing firms which undercut each other to attract customers. Rural properties incur greater property management fees as there are fewer agents and there is unrestrained pricing.

Many feel that the cost saving cannot be defined monetarily, but property landlords are saved from the troubles that definitely lie ahead, should they decide to manage their property on their own.

Stephen Blake

Stephen has worked as an expert accountants Brisbane in a number of small to large accounting firms in Brisbane. In 2008 he founded Blake & Co Accountants and in 2009 he founded BrisTax. Professionally, he specialises in income tax. He has for many years had a keen interest in both business and technology.